Hinge assembly



Jan. Z7, 1942. F. G. GouLD HINGE ASSEMBLY INVENTOR Filed May 26, 1941 FLOYD G.GOULD wim uw@ ATTORNE S Patented Jan. 27, 1942 i ',Floyd. G. Gould, Detroit, Mich., assignorftok Ferro Stamping & Manufacturing Company; Detroit,

Mich., acorporaton of Michigan Application-Mayte, 1941',aseria1f-N0. 395,299 .5 Claims. (01.164163) This invention relates generally to hinges 'and refers more particularly lto vimprovements 4in hinges of the type employed ,to Vdisplace amovable part relative to itstsupport during swinging movement of the movable part.

Although the hinge forming the subject mat-v ter of this invention may beadvantageously used in practically any instance where it is desired to bodily displace a movable part relativeto its xed support during swinging movement. of the movable part, nevertheless, it nds Particular utility when employed in the lmanufacture of motor Vehicles for connecting the rearedge portion of an alligatory type hood'to its-support.

A hinge constructed in accordance with this inventionis especially advantageous for the above purpose because it is not only concealed lfrom view in the closed position of' the hood but,`in addition, is of simple, lightweight construction capable of being inexpensively manufactured-assembled and installed.

Another object of this invention -is to provide a hinge having spring means for assisting in raising the hood to yits open position and for holding the hood in the latter position. y

A further object of this invention is to provide a hinge of the above type'wherein thev several ablepartwhich, in Athe :present instance, may beconsidereda'vhoodafor ay motor Vehicle, and the reference4 character' I I designates, generally, a hinge: assembly embodying .the features' of the presentinvention. Thehood I0 is` of the type adaptedto' be swung upwardly from the front end thereof inorder to.v gain access to the space beneathl the' hood `and,aaccording1y, the rear end' of the: hood is. hingedly connected to `a xed part ofthe vehicle. In the present instance,` two hinge assemblies 'I l .are` provided for connecting the rear-endof theihood to xed parts of the vey hicle: and these hinge assemblies are located at parts thereof, including the counterbalancing f spring means, form a unit with a bracket 4which is `capable of being'readilyattached'to the xed support'forthe hood. As a resultthe hinge may be'assembled atonepoint" independently of .the hoodand readily attached `as a unit in the field.

A vstill further feature of this invention is`-to` two different positions;

-Figure 2 is a sectional viewtaken on theline 2-2 of Figure 1; and f Figure 3 is a sectionalviewtaken on ,the-line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Upon :reference to Figure 1,l itzwill be noted that thereference character I 0 indicatesa` movtoa fixedfpart (not shown) of a vehicle and.

adapted to supportl all of the-several elements ofthe hinge so that a unitary construction is provided. A link-I3 is pivotally connected intermediate the ends thereof to a raised portion I4 on 'the lower end of the bracket I2 by means of a pin I5, andthe vrear end of the link I3 is pivotally connected to the hood, or movable part, I0 by means of a pivot pin I6. A second link I1 Vhas the upper endthereof pivotally connected f to a vdepressed' portion I8 on the upper part'of the bracket VI2 by means-of-a 'pin I9, and the lower end of the link I1 is pivotally lconnected to `a third link 20 by means of a pin 2|. The

link 20 is also pivotally connected to the forward endA of the link' I3 by meansof a pin 22,

The forward end of vthelink I3 extends laterallyat substantially right angles .to the link I3 so thatwhen the hood, or part,v I0 is in its vlowermost position, the `pivot pin 22 yassumes a position above the pivot pin. I5. The above relative `positions of the parts are shown by the full lines in Figure 1, and it will be observed from thedotted line position of theseparts that the pivot 22 moves from a position above the -pivot I5 to a position below the latter when the hood, or part, I0 is swung to its raised position.

In accordance with the present invention, movement of the part I0 to its raised position is assisted, by"a-Pcounterbalancing spring v25. The

spring25 is-of .the clock-typev having the innen,

end `fixed to4 the `pvotfpintZI and having the outer end :looped around. the upperside -of a shoulder 23 on the link 20. The arrangement is such that when the links are swung from the dotted line positions to the full line positions shown in Figure 1, the spring 25 is wound, or tensioned, and exerts a downward force on the link 20. Inasmuch as the pivot pin 22 assumes a position above the pivot pin I5 when the hood, or part, I is in its lowermost position, the downward force exerted by the spring on the link 20 tends to hold the hood, or part, IU in its lowermost position against the flexible seal 24. It will be noted, however, that when the hood, or part, I0 is in its lowermost position, the pivot pin 22 is located in close proximity to the pivot pin I above the latter so that initial raising movement of the part I0 is suicient to swing the pivot pin 22 below the pivot pin I5 whereupon continued raising movement of the part I0 is assisted by the spring 25. In this connection, attention is called to the fact that the link is provided with a portion 21 which extends beyond the pivot 2| and has a shoulder 28 for engagement with the front edge of the link II intermediate the ends of the latter. The shoulder 28 forms a stop to limit the movement of the linkage to the dotted line position shown in Figure 1.

It will be observed from the above that the hood, or part, I0 is not only swung upwardly by a movement of the linkage from the full line to the dotted line positions shown in Figure 1 but, is also displaced forwardly, In the present instance, this is highly advantageous in that it permits the rear end of the hood to clear the cowl (not shown) of the vehicle during swinging movement of the hood. In this connection, it is further pointed out that the travel of the hood, or part Il), is controlled by a link 29 having the lower end pivotally connected to the bracket I2 by the pin I9 and having the upper end pivotally connected to the hood, or part, I0 at a p-oint spaced forwardly from the pivot pin I6.

Thus, from the foregoing, it will be observed that I have provided a combined hinge and counterbalancing means which forms an assembly capable of being readily attached as a unit. It will also be noted that theseveral parts of the hinge are of simple construction and lend themselves to economical manufacture.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A hinge v'for pivotally connecting a movable part to a fixed part in a manner to swing the movable part longitudinally and upwardly relative to the xed part, said hinge comprising a link having one end pivoted to the movable part and having a portion intermediate the ends pivoted to the fixed part, a pair of links having the adjacent ends pivotally connected together and having the outer ends respectively pivoted to the other end of the rst link and to the iixed part, a spiral spring having the inner end secured to the pivotal connection between the adjacent ends of said pair of links and having the outer end engaging one of the links of said pair, said spring and links being so arranged that lowering the movable part relative to the xed part winds the spring so that the latter assists movement of the movable part to its raised position, and a link having the opposite ends respectively pivoted to the fixed and movable parts to control the movement of the latterY part relative to the xed part.

2. A hinge'for pivotally connecting a movable part to a xed part in a manner to swing the movable part longitudinally and upwardly relative to the fixed part, said hinge comprising a ifi 'Sii

fio'

link having one end pivoted to the movable part and having a portion intermediate the ends pivoted to the iixed part, a second link having the upper end pivoted to the xed part, a third link having one end pivoted to the lower end of the second link and having the other end pivoted to the first link, a spiral spring having the inner end secured to the pivotal connection between the second and third links and having the outer end engaging the third link intermediate the ends of the latter, the pivotal connection between the rst and third links being located above the point of pivotal connection between the rst link and fixed part in the lowermost position of the movable part so that the spring acts to hold the movable part in its lowermost position and said pivotal connection being movable to a position below the point of pivotal connection of the rst link with the fixed part as the movable part is raised so that the spring assists in raising the movable part, and means between the bracket and movable part coacting with said links to swing the movable party about the pivotal connection between the first link and movable part.

3. A hinge for pivotally connecting a movable part to a xed part in a manner to swing the movable part longitudinally and upwardly relative to the xed part, said hinge comprising a bracket secured to the fixed part, a link having one end pivoted to the movable part and having a portion intermediate the ends pivoted to said bracket, a second link having the upper end pivoted to the bracket, a third link having one end pivoted to the lower end of the second link and having the other end pivoted to the rst link, a spiral counterbalancing spring having the inner end xed to the pivotal connection between the second and third links and having the kopposite end connected to the third link intermediate the ends of the latter, the pivotal connection between the first and third links -being located above the point of pivotalV connection between the rst link and fixed part in the lowermost'position of the movable part so that the spring acts to hold the movable part in its lowermost position and adapted tomove to a position below-the point ofpivotal connection of the first link with the xed part as the movable part is raised so that the spring assists in raising the movable part, and a link lhaving one end pivotally connected to the bracket and having the opposite end pivotally connected to the movable vpart at a point spaced fromthe pivotal connection of the first link with the movable part for controlling swinging -movement ofthe said movable part.

4. A-hinge for pivotally connectinga movable part to a fixed part in a manner to swing the movable part longitudinally and upwardly relative to the fixed part, saidhi-nge comprising a bracket secured to the xedpart, a link having one endpivoted to the movable part and having a portion intermediate the ends pivoted to the bracket, a second linkmhaving the upper end pivoted to the bracket, a third'link having one end bracket secured to the fixed part, a link having g one end pivoted to the movable part and having a portion intermediate the ends pivoted to said bracket, a second link having one end supported on the bracket for shifting movement relative to the bracket and having the other end pivot'- ally connected to the other end of the rst link, a spiral spring having the inner end secured to the shiftable end of the second link and having the outer end engaging the second link intermediate the ends thereof in a manner to assist the swinging movement of the movable part to its raised position, and means connecting the bracket to the movable part and operable to swing the movable part about the pivotal connection between the rst link and movable part.

FLOYD G. GOULD. 

